NYC People’s Referendum on Free Trade

 

News Release /Media Advisory

For Immediate Release 11/1/07

Contact: Jessica Walker Beaumont (917) 609-5788

 

Sen. Clinton Wrangled by Rangel, Edwards, Bush,

and Corporate Lobbyists in Peru Free Trade "Tug-O-Hillary"

 

Click here to view photos of this protest.

 

Who: NYC People's Referendum on Free Trade, NY Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador, Wetlands Activism Collective, Global Justice for Animals, Health Global Access Project, and Movement for Peace in Colombia.

Where: Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building, 125^th Street and 7^th Avenue (2/3 train to 125^th Street)

When: TODAY, Thursday, November 01, 2007, 1-2PM

 

Disappointed by Hillary Clinton's silence on how she intends to vote next week on the Peru Free Trade Agreement (Peru FTA) during her rally with the Peru FTA backer Rep. Charlie Rangel last Saturday, trade justice activists will stage a "Tug-o-Hillary" in front of Charlie Rangel's office at the Adam Clayton Powell State Office Building. With ropes tied to both arms, Hillary will be pulled in one direction by Peru FTA foe Senator John Edwards, accompanied by advocates ofendangered Amazon rainforest wildlife, workers, family farmers, and HIV medications users. Pulling in the other direction will be Charlie Rangel and George Bush—with corporate lobbyists holding money bags in front of them for inspiration.

 

Trade justice activists are fiercely critical of the Peru Free Trade Agreement, which they argue will limit access to generic drugs for people with AIDS, shield corporate polluters from environmental laws protecting the Peruvian Amazon and its human and animal inhabitants, hurt small farmers and workers in both countries, and contribute to the expansion of inhumane, polluting factory farms.

 

According to Phil Josselyn of the NYC People's Referendum on Free Trade "Charlie Rangel and Nancy Pelosi have sold out to their campaign contributors at Pfizer and Occidental Petroleum and betrayed US voters who elected Democrats in November to bring a fair trade agenda to Washington. Critics of the Peru Free Trade Agreement like John Edwards represent millions of US voters who are fed up with NAFTA-style trade deals that hurt our economy, pollute our environment, and limit access to lifesaving medications for people with AIDS. Hillary Clinton has stated that 'NAFTA hurt a lot of American workers', so why hasn't she gone on record opposing a Peru Free Trade Agreement that's even worse than NAFTA?"

Edwards announced his opposition to the Peru Free Trade Agreement on Saturday, commenting, "Like the failed free trade agreements before it, the Peru Agreement puts the interests of the big multinational corporations first, ahead of the interests of American workers and communities."

On Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee chaired by Rangel unanimously passed the Peru Free Trade Agreement, moving it towards a floor vote despite a threat by the Bush administration on Tuesday to veto the Trade and Globalization Assistance Act of 2007, sponsored by Rangel and 39 cosponsors, which would reauthorize the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance program, which provides assistance to workers, farmers and firms adversely affected by changes in international trade and investment, and extends it to service workers and firms. According to Phil Josselyn, "It's an outrage that Rangel and Congressional Democrats chose to move ahead with a Peru deal that will harm US workers one day after Bush's announcement that he won't reauthorize the safety net designed to help workers harmed by such agreements."

 

Additional info available at http://tradejustice.net/StopPeruFTA.. The NYC People's Referendum on Free Trade is NOT endorsing candidates in the 2008 elections, but encourages ALL members of Congress to vote NO on Peru Free Trade.

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